Cricket

First test between India and New Zealand end in a draw; bad light stops play

By Vaibhaw Tiwari

After five days of a great tussle between India and New Zealand in the first match of the Test Series, it is bad light that dictates the result of the match on the final day. Chasing the target of 283 of New Zealand found itself in all sorts of trouble in the second session, where they lost both their overnight batters in the most bizarre fashion. While nightwatchman Somerville got out while trying to take on Umesh Yadav for a pull shot, the hero of New Zealand’s first inning Tom Latham got an inside edge while trying to cut a wide delivery by Ashwin that kept low.

Latham’s wicket, just like in the first inning, opened up the flood gate. Hunting in pair, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin picked up seven wickets together to reduce New Zealand to 155 for 9 in the day’s final session.

Although debutant Rachin Ravindra put up a great resistance, it seemed as if it was a matter of a moment before either he or Azaj would lose their wicket. That is when the bad light came into play. With their high-tech machinery, Umpire Nitin Menon kept checking the light’s condition between the over. And once Jadeja bowled the 94th over of the match, which Ajaz Patel safely negotiated, Menon consulted his partner Umpire Virendra Sharma to call it a day.

The batters took a sigh of relief, and so did the New Zealand’s dressing room, while Ajinkya Rahane was seen in a long conversation with both umpires before he shook their hand to accept the fate that the bad light had professed for him.

At the end of the day, it was cricket that won. Both the teams put up a great fight to procure the first draw on Indian soil in the last four years.

Shreyas Iyer was adjudged as the player of the match for his fabulous century and a half-century in the first and second inning, respectively. He became the first debutant for India to achieve this feat.

Tags: Ajaz Patel Ajinkya Rahane India vs New Zealand Ravindra Ravindra Jadeja Tom Latham

Vaibhaw Tiwari

Vaibhaw Tiwari is a postgraduate in English. A media enthusiast who has a stronghold on communication and content writing. Vaibhaw is currently working as a subeditor at Daily India News and can be reached at [email protected]